Clouds Plus Drugs
by KishaKisha
Summary: Revised and Rewritten   The two laziest ninja in Konoha are best friends, so what's a little smoke and cloud watching going to harm?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I do own my OC's

So this is a ShikamaruxOC story.

Clouds plus Drugs

Chapter 1

There are three things I hate and three things I like. I hate alcohol, bridges and doing anything that requires much effort. I like sleeping, relaxing and smoking weed. I live in Konoha with my so called parents and I'm about to graduate the ninja academy. I'm 13 years old and would rather sleep all day then have to be lectured about growing up for two hours.

My name is Mayumi Etsuko. I find it amusing that my parents actually named me that. Mayumi means true and gentle, while Etsuko means child of joy. I'm anything but. Eh, my mom was drunk when her ass gave birth to me. What'd they expect? Pippy Longstocking? I wouldn't doubt it though, because I think Dad was high when he was with my mom during the birthing process.

Did I love my parents? Nope. I hate them with such a passion that it could injure someone. They would've kicked me out a LONG time ago but due to the Hokage forbidding them to do so, my ass is stuck in this thing of a house.

House would be an exaggeration. So would apartment. It was the basement of an apartment building. There was one wall that signified a bedroom, for them of course. Then there was the rest of the basement. There we had a stove and a couch. I slept on the couch. If we wanted to go to the bathroom we'd have to walk up to the lobby, ask for the key, then go to the back of the building and use that one. Man, was it troublesome.

I had exactly two outfits. One was my normal every day where and the other was formal, like for funerals and such.

My daily attire would be black jean shorts that went to my mid-thigh with a long sleeved black shirt to go with it. Then of course the ninja sandals and pouches and stuff but that doesn't really count. My physical appearance wasn't really much to talk about. My hair is mid-back length, bright green and was always pulled back into a half bun. I had grey eyes and my lower lip was pierced on the left side. My body was an average size really; I had normal boobs and was thin but not thin enough to have my ribs pop out. Yeah you could see them but they weren't sticking out like most of the girls. Compared to the people at the academy I was plain. Most of the girls looked like a twig, flat chested, no ass, no thighs and no muscle whatsoever.

But honestly, I looked EXACTLY like my mother except for the eyes. They were my Dad's. If we wanted to we could pass for sisters, except for the fact that she pounds on make-up and has a beer belly, or she's pregnant. You couldn't tell the difference if you tried. My father had 5 o'clock shadow which he never bothered to deal with. He was well built but that was because he's a boxer. Not professional but street wise.

Most parents and children would be close, but due to drugs, gangs and me training to be a kunoichi, we hated each other. My mother was a meth whore, alcoholic and yet she wasn't a prostitute. My dad, as already stated a boxer, but was hyped up on steroids which caused him to beat my mother from time to time. You'd think that he'd hit me too but nope, he hardly took notice if I was even there. It was my mom who got me into weed, she said that it'll make me happy when I want, and as a mother's gift she'd supply me if I became a ninja.

Sounds bad, right?

The streets of Konoha were busy as normal but it's a whatever feeling when you get used to the crowds. I was making my way towards the academy as I smoked a joint. Here in Konoha, unless it's affecting someone, they wouldn't care if there was a 6 year old whore working corners. So yeah, pretty much my ass wasn't going to get busted.

Upon arriving the gates of the school I put out the rest of my friend and shoved it in my pocket. The place was getting crowded since this was testing day and everyone was practicing all the jutsu they knew. I would've kept on smoking but this was a 'drug free' school.

I needn't worry. Though I do smoke weed, it doesn't affect my I.Q in anyway. When my mom was pregnant with me, Dad hit her in the stomach while she swallowed some glass, causing some reaction with her stomach and womb causing me to have an I.Q of 212. How she lived through that, I don't know.

It's annoying because all the sensei pull me out of class (When I say 'pull' I mean literally. I'm a lazy ass person who will hardly move for anything.) to test me. They did everything to me including the rubix cube, the whole block square challenge and even went as far as to bring in the world's best chess player only for me to beat him in fourteen minutes. They wanted me to move up to a Jounin instantly but I declined. Being a Jounin only means work, so might as well take as long as I can to get there.

My feet stepped silently against the cement floor, and I kinda tilted due to the fact that I was a little bit high. Thank Kami I didn't smoke the whole thing, or I would've forgotten where it was I was going. Two doors were passed until I got to my classroom. The door was slid open and was greeted by no one since all the females where crowded over by that Uchiha kid. Sorry, I'm not a fan of him, not because he's a strong ninja, but because he told me I was a junkie, when clearly, I'm not. I'm just a pot head. There's a difference.

I took my usual seat in the corner in the back row. It didn't take long for me to drift off into a snooze until I was tapped on the shoulder. I didn't move hoping for whoever wanted me would leave. But nope, I was tapped again. My head lifted up to see Shikamaru Nara. This kid…. Well he was like the boy version of me.

He held out a stick of gum to me," I can smell the weed. Best to hide it."

"Mind doing the same. I can smell the cigarettes on you," I retorted as I took the gum and began to eat it.

"What a drag," he muttered and ate another stick of gum in hopes to cover up the smell. Shikamaru sat down next to me and began to take a nap. Soon enough it smelled like mint and cinnamon instead of nicotine and green.

My eyes began to droop again and wanted no reason to fight with them so complied.

Shikamaru Nara, oh where to begin on him. Well his physical appearance was again, nothing to talk about. His hair was in a spiky ponytail, he wore a fishnet shirt with a green jacket that bore the Nara clan's symbol. Brown pants with regular ninja sandals plus the pouches for kunai and such. He and I weren't besties but we were pretty decent. We didn't hang out after school but a lot of the time we'd ditch together to find somewhere to sleep. We had this hiding space underneath the school kitchen. It was more or less a den created by an animal but moved out but it was still our best hiding place to sleep.

It was a little bit weird when I found out that Shikamaru smoked. He lives in the upper class area along with all the other kids like Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno and the group of 'populars'. Kids from that area don't do anything bad, where as I came from the North part of Konoha where it was common to see kids smoking. My side of the village included no grass, rotting buildings and a dull grey feeling. His side of the village included grass, trees, parks and the whole fucking works.

Shikamaru wasn't much of a talker, but neither was I, so we enjoyed each other's company.

"ETSUKO!" I was pulled out of my little nap to hear my name being hollered.

My eye cracked open a centimeter to see that there was no one around. My imagination?

"Etsuko, I know you're awake. Everyone is waiting for you and Nara to wake up to complete the test."

Oh boy, my turn already?

At a sluggishly slow pace I got up and started for the front of the classroom where everyone was sitting in a line.

I pulled Shikamaru's hair hard enough for him to wake up and grumble a curse at me, yet reluctantly follow.

Iruka-Sensei stood at his desk with a clip board," Simple but difficult, create three shadow clones."

I made the dragon hand sign and beside me appeared three perfect clones. Shikamaru did the same and Iruka-Sensei jotted something down on his clip board.

"Looks like the sloths are actually smart," snickered Ino. Both Shikamaru and I turned to glare at her while she shut her mouth at our look.

"Next, is to create transformation of me," he looked at Shikamaru for this one.

Again, no sweat for him, without even moving his hands he *poofed* into Iruka-Sensei.

He nodded and Shikamaru returned back to his normal self.

"Alright, Etsuko, create a water clone," he instructed and placed a glass of water on the desk.

Troublesome it was because water clones require more hand signs, but it was an easy pass.

"Alright, you pass," Iruka-Sensei reached behind and handed me a headband with the Leaf insignia on it," You can now join the other students over there." He motioned his head to the right side of the room.

I moved my eyes over there and back at him. There was no way in hell that I was walking ten feet to sit down when I could sit down right here.

Though, Iruka-Sensei ignored that I hadn't moved. As he gave another test to the other version of me, I tied the headband through my shuriken holder so it was on my right thigh. By the time I had finished, I saw that Shikamaru had begun tying his headband around his arm. Can't say I was surprised to see him pass.

"Okay students, you're going to go have lunch then come back here to be assorted into your teams," he said cheerily. Most of the kids nodded and then it was like a mob to leave the building.

I and a couple other smart kids stayed behind to wait for the mob to pass.

"The usual?" Shikamaru turned to me.

"Actually I was planning on staying here and sleeping," I answered with a yawn.

"I'm not permitting any students to stay in today, Miss Etsuko," Iruka-Sensei said while ignoring Naruto's complaints. Naruto Uzimaki was the town's number one knucklehead. He was the most hyperactive idiot one could conjure up. He was blonde, blue eyed and wore and orange jumpsuit. He was indeed a human highlighter.

"The usual it is," I agreed with Shikamaru and left to our hideout.

'The Usual' is pretty much just us in our little den, smoking cigarettes and eating rice. We didn't smoke weed because for one, the kitchen ladies could smell it if we tried. To our luck, on the other hand, they can't smell nicotine smoke because of their horrible cooking. Second, Shikamaru was timid when it came to weed. He said he doesn't want to get caught. So we stuck with his pack.

I admit, it was a fun thing to do because a lot of the time, we'd have contests to see who could make the best design with the smoke. So far I had been able to make a ring with a smoke while he made it into a spiral.

"Are you excited to become a ninja?"

"It'll be troublesome, but in a way, yeah, I guess I am. What about you?"

"I agree, it's going to be a drag but it'll get me out of the house and away from my crabby mother," he chuckled.

I smiled. The rest of our 'lunch' was in silence while we passed the pack of cigarettes back and forth.

As the bell rang, signaling for us to return, I turned to him," You know were probably going to die of lung cancer before we reach the age of thirty, right?"

"What a drag," he said in mock sadness. A laugh escaped my lips.

We were quick to chew gum to hide the smell from Iruka-Sensei as we entered the classroom.

Okay, somehow Naruto actually made it to be a ninja before any of us, so it got Shikamaru curious.

As he questioned the blonde, I returned to my corner and laid my head down.

Not three minutes later, Iruka-Sensei spoke up," Okay, I am now assigning the teams. These people who you are assigned with will be your team mates until you are a Jounin. Since we have an uneven amount of students we'll have one team of four. Okay for team 7, Naruto Uzumaki… Sakura Haruno…. And Sasuke Uchiha."

He began to name the other students off in a different order. Only did I return fully to reality when I heard my name get called," Mayumi Etsuko…. Chouji Akimichi….. Ino Yamanaka… and Shikamaru Nara."

"Didn't you say something about hating to be teamed up with me?" Shikamaru mocked towards the blonde girl who was commonly known as 'Ino'.

Chouji Akimichi was this chubby kid who ate his ass off. He's not much to talk about. I didn't hate him but I didn't like him. Hell, I didn't know him.

"Team 10, you will meet your new sensei will be waiting on the roof," Iruka-Sensei said and dismissed us.

I take it I was in Team 10.

Lazily and slowly, we made it to the rooftop where we saw a Jounin smoking. I instantly recognized him as the guy who busted my mother for possession at a church. Perfect. His name was Sarutobi Asuma. He had black spiky hair, with a beard, he smokes, and he looks like a normal Jounin except for the fact that he takes people into jail for possession in confidential areas.

He turned to see who we were," Oh so you finally arrived?"

"Gomenasai, we would've been here faster if it weren't for those two," Ino pointed at us.

"Hey, honey, we walked through the door before you did. Your skinny ass was the last to set foot on the rooftop," I snapped at her.

"Blaming others already are we?" he said inhaling some of the smoke. Shikamaru and I were nearly leaning towards him to get a smell of the nicotine.

"Alright, so my name is Asuma. I'll be your squad leader from here on out. Now we're going to get to know each other," Asuma said simply.

"Can you give us an example?" Chouji asked between munches of his chips.

Asuma scratched the back of his head in thought. After a moment he replied," Okay… I like to smoke and play shogi, uhm, I don't like to clean and my dream for the future is to have a nice family. Now you, blondie."

Ino looked at him for a moment deciding whether or not to add a rude comment.

"My name is Ino Yamanaka. I like to tease Sakura and flirt with Sasuke. I don't like Sakura for that matter and I hate that kid Naruto. My dream for the future is to marry Sasuke-kun and live happily ever after."

We all stared at her in disbelief.

"Somebody's got problems," muttered Chouji. We all snickered at this until Ino gave us a demonic death glare.

Asuma Sensei cleared his throat and looked at Chouji," Okay, you there. The one eating, your turn."

He nodded and sat up a little straighter," My name is Chouji Akimichi. I like food and hanging out with my friends, I don't like not eating and bullies. My dream for the future is to open my own buffet."

Once he was done Chouji began eating furiously from his poor chip bag.

"Alright, you. The guy with a happy expression," Asuma said as he pointed to Shikamaru.

He glared at our new Sensei," My name is Shikamaru Nara. I like sleeping and watch clouds. I don't-" he stopped to yawn then continued," like to move around too much. My dream for the future is…. Well… I don't have a dream for the future." I suppose he left out the smoking part on purpose.

Asuma looked at him with an irritated glance then turned to me.

"Okay, the girl who looks thrilled to be here."

I sighed," What a drag… Alright, my name is Mayumi Etsuko. I like sleeping, relaxing and smoking a joint. I hate alcohol, bridges, and doing anything that requires effort. My dream for the future is to have a dream for the future."

I got looked at until Asuma spoke," You smoke? A kid your age shouldn't do that."

"Well you're a perfect role model," I snapped back.

"Touché," he said.

It was a moment before anyone spoke.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?"

I glared at him, he must remember my mom.

"I don't know, do you?"

"I'm pretty sure I do, have you been arrested before?"

"Yes."

"Have yo- Wait. Did you get arrested for possesion at a church?"

Shikamaru choked on a yawn and start laughing hysterically.

"No. That was my mother."

"Being a criminal must run in the family," Ino muttered.

"I'm not a criminal, I'm just a pot head."

"Pot is illegal, Mayumi," she said, as if she knew everything.

"Really? I had no idea. What college did you go to? Blonde State University?"

"Alright," Asuma cut in before she could come back with a reply," I want all of you to meet back here tomorrow morning, at nine o'clock sharp."

Before we could object, Asuma disappeared in a spiral of illusion, leaving me with my three team mates.

We departed and as soon as we were away from the academy I pulled out my beloved and lit it.

I inhaled the sweet, intoxicating smoke.

"You really shouldn't do that, Etsuko," ino started a lecture.

"Ino, please. Call me Mayumi," I said taking another puff. Shikamaru had appeared beside me and I offered him the lighter. He took it as Ino continued on.

"Okay, Mayumi, you really shouldn't smoke. It deteriorates your brain cells and-"

I cut her off," Listen, darling, I could smoke a pound of weed a day for the rest of my life, and I'd still be smarter than you. It's just how I am. Now stop lecturing me because if the Hokage said the same words as you did, not three days ago, and I'm still smoking, it's obviously not going to work. Plus, weed isn't even that bad. It just makes you hungry."

Ino stopped walking. I was going to say this now, but hell, I didn't like Ino one bit. Not because she was blonde, but because she thought she overruled everybody else.

I didn't hear what she said behind my back as I took my leave to the Northern side of Konoha to await my dinner.

Dinner was usually a piece or two of bread and a glass of water.

Shikamaru said good-bye and followed Ino, seeing as he lived close to her, and I have no idea where Chouji went. (Lol, ninja status.) Which left me to be in peace as I walked back home.

I sighed as I turned on the basement light. No one was home which was perfect because that means I get to sleep in silence.

Collapsing on the couch I fell asleep with being stoned. It's one of the the best feelings ever and I smiled even more because now my mother would supply me of my friend because, I am as of now a ninja.

A lazy ass ninja.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Shikamaru :'c but I do own my OC's

Clouds plus Drugs

Chapter 2

My parents hadn't returned home until late last night, so I went without dinner.

It was a bad idea, but I would rather have gone without eating for a night than walk in on my parents stoned and making love. Trust me, that shit is nasty and they don't even have a door.

So whatever.

I washed my face in the bathroom and then left to our rendezvous point. It was 9:36 by the time I got there.

"You're late," Asuma growled.

"Be happy I even showed up," I snapped back. How troublesome. I'm already getting yelled at.

Shikamaru was already sleeping on the steps and Ino was looking over the railing probably hoping she'd see Sasuke. Chouji was eating his food from a bento box and Asuma was smoking a cigarette.

Heh, no wonder why I'm cranky. I haven't had my dosage yet.

How troublesome.

"Alright, we are-" Asuma stopped and nudged Shikamaru with his foot. Nothing happened so he nudged Shikamaru until he rolled over and opened his eyes.

"Morning, sunshine," Asuma grinned while Shikamaru glared.

"Alright, we are going to take a test to see how well you can cooperate with a team," he said as Shikamaru groggily sat up.

I sat down beside him and looked up at Asuma.

"Me no comprende esto con testo," I yawned.

"Que?"

I glowered at him," I don't like taking tests."

"Well you should've said that yesterday," Asuma said and walked away motioning us to follow.

"TAKING TESTS REQUIRES EFFORT YOU MORON!" I shouted at him..

"How troublesome," I muttered as Shikamaru helped me up and offered to light one for me.

I nodded and he did so.

"I'm surprised your even here," I told him.

"Eh, my mother literally dragged me out of bed. What a drag, but what can I say? She's my mother," he said as he inhaled.

I laughed and followed the others in silence.

We arrived at the training ground when Asuma turned to us," Okay, the test isn't hard. It just requires you to be paired up and all you have to do is hide well enough for me to not find you."

"Requires effort," I said.

I got glared at.

"Okay the teams are Shikamaru and Ino, and Chouji with Mayumi."

"You mean I have to be paired up with that?" Shikamaru pointed at the blonde.

"Like I'd ever want to be paired up with you," she yelled at him.

I wasn't psyched about being paired with Chouji, but it was better than Ino.

"I'll give you ten minutes to start," Asuma completely ignored the argument between his two pupils.

We waited for his mark to let us go and when he did, Ino sprinted towards the forest behind us, dragging poor Shikamaru behind.

Chouji and I stood there for a moment before walking towards the forest ourselves.

"So where should we hide?" he asked. For once, he wasn't eating.

I looked around and took note of my surroundings.

"It'd be too common to hide on the ground so we're going for the trees."

"I'm not a good climber," he said embarrassed.

"You don't have to be," I said. I walked towards one of the biggest trees I could find. It so happened that this forest inhabited redwood trees. But these were hollow. Some animal had already made residence in this one. Which is why it was perfect for Chouji.

Yes Chouji was big boned but this hole was a perfect size for him.

"Climb in," I instructed. Once he was inside he took note of what I was doing.

I had begun gather leaves and twigs and such to make it look like there was nothing there.

"But Mayumi, what if I get hungry?" Chouji inquired.

"Do you have anything soft to eat?"

"Yeah… but the smell-"

"Will be masked out by the scent of the leaves. Eat quietly Chouji and don't move until Asuma tells you that this test is over or I come and get you. Understand?"

"Yup."

Chouji was entirely camouflaged now. Not even and ANBU would know he was there.

Now it was my turn.

I had been counting how long it took to hide Chouji and that had been six minutes. So I had four to hide myself.

To my luck I found a dark pond. But it wasn't dark enough to hide the sea grass at the bottom.

It was a close enough shade of my hair color and I found a hollow stick to breathe through.

My feet went into the pond first and until I was entirely submerged. Logs covered my body so it honestly looked like there was nothing there.

Troublesome as it was, I was amused to see Asuma try and find me.

**Asuma's P.O.V**

Alrighty then, ten minutes are up and now to go find the kiddies.

I don't think it will be too hard for me to find the girls, one because of their hair color and two… well I didn't think they were that smart. Let me rephrase that, Ino wasn't that smart. Mayumi was a genius. I saw the scores they took when the council took her I.Q score.

Chouji would be easy to find as well, seeing as he was always eating, the smell would attract animals.

Shikamaru would probably be a little bit harder to find. He probably lodged up in the trees hoping to take a nap.

I began to enter the forest hoping to find one of them easily. Twigs snapped underneath my feet as I looked around. I felt another ninja's being near me, and I had a feeling of who it was.

"Kakashi, how are you doing?"

Kakashi had also been assigned a team and was testing them as I was.

"I'm doing just fine. Trying to find the kiddies I see?"

I nodded," Shouldn't be too hard for Yamanaka and Akimichi. But Etsuko and Nara, heh, well they're a different story."

Kakashi chuckled," Oh yes, of course you would get two kids with an I.Q over 200. I envy you, I'm stuck with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke."

"I feel bad for you."

"Yes well, I doubt they'll pass anyway. See ya," he said and walked away to see if he could find his students.

I chuckled, Kakashi was a good guy, but the way he talked about children was just too funny.

Okay now where are these kids? I admit that I was slightly impressed to see that they hid well enough to make me actually look for them.

But the first one to be found was Ino, hiding in a bush.

"Damn, how'd you know?"

"Bushes don't have eyes."

She muttered something that I would ignore.

Next, to find is Chouji.

This one is me going to have to use my nose. But then again, he was paired with Etsuko, and who knows what she came up with.

"Alright, Ino, keep on the lookout for your team mates."

The girl nodded and began to actually look around.

Not a minute later we heard snoring from above.

"Alright, Shikamaru, you've been found. You can come down now," I called but he didn't move.

Great, now I was going to have to go wake him up. I hopped up the branches and when I reached his level I began to shake him.

"C'mon, kid, you-"

In a puff of smoke he disappeared. A shadow clone?

Oh boy, this kid was better than I thought. Not too many kids could of thought of a trick like that.

But I was still more experienced than him when I saw a shadow.

It looked exactly like the branch above me but was way too dark to be an actual shadow.

A smile appeared on my lips. That was a good trick.

"I'll admit that one was impressive, but you've still been found. Shikamaru you can come out of the shadows," I grinned at my pun.

I heard a sigh and saw that Shikamaru had begun to climb out of his little dark spot.

That was a Nara clan jutsu for you. A real shadow man. I laughed again at my own joke.

So now all we had to do was find Chouji and Mayumi.

"Shikamaru, if you were Chouji, where would you hide?"

"I'd find the biggest crevice I could find and hide there."

I had found out that the Nara kid was actually best friends with Chouji since they were little so it was good to ask him about it.

Ino had begun to wonder off towards the boulders. She was thinking about crevices like rocks and such.

All three of us had begun searching through the rocks only to find no Chouji.

"Where could he be?" Ino thought aloud.

"Indeed. This is such a drag," complained Nara.

"Well we know that if Chouji had been able to hide this well, Etsuko had to have helped him do it," Ino thought aloud.

As if those were the magic words we heard someone sneeze. Though there was no one there but us.

"In the tree," Shikamaru pointed at a bush covering a tree.

I removed the bush to see certain plants inhabiting the outside of the hole. That's what was hiding the smell of food. Inside the hole was Chouji smiling sheepishly.

"You found me," he laughed.

"Damn hard to, too," Ino growled.

"Hey, don't blame me. Mayumi was the one who hid me," Chouji explained.

So it was her? Heh, I thought so.

"Mhm, but now we still have to find her. Okay, Shikamaru, time to put your brain at work and give us a clue to where she is."

He nodded then looked around the area. After a moment he sat down in the ground.

What in the Sam hell is he doing with his hands? A jutsu, maybe? But I've never seen that hand sign before. Maybe two minutes later he stood up and looked at all of us.

"Judging by the way the leaves were positioned she headed towards the fence, as far away as possible from the rest of us. I give her about six or seven minutes to help Chouji with his hiding place. Then at the speed she walks for three to four minutes she'd be somewhere in that direction," he said and started heading towards the pond area.

We arrived there only to see nothing but a bunch of ponds and cat tails.

All of us looked around for her, up in the trees, any signs for footprints but yet we found nothing.

Then it occurred to me that maybe…. Just maybe she was in the water.

I kneeled down by the pond closest to me and looked at every detail. Nothing.

Next the pond by Shikamaru. Kneeling down, I saw that this one had grass at the bottom. Green, and so I looked as close as I could get. Then I saw it, there was a patch of grass that was lighter than the others and it led to under the log that was floating around.

This was by far, the best I've seen in a long while.

"Clever. Extremely clever, I'm impressed," I said aloud.

"What? Where is she?" Ino ran towards me. Shikamaru and Chouji joined her.

"I don't see her," Chouji said.

"Look at the grass," I told them all.

It took them all a moment before Shikamaru spoke up," I see her."

"Where? I'm still lost," Ino complained.

"What a drag, woman, look at the grass that's being taken under the log. Notice how it's slightly lighter than the rest and how it's longer than most."

"Oh, I see her now!" Chouji exclaimed.

I chuckled at them then said to the water," Alright, Mayumi, it was impressive but you've been caught."

Eight fingers appeared from the logs edge and pushed her out. A grin was on her face as she surfaced and faced us.

"Whussup?"

**Normal P.O.V**

I seriously wanted to laugh at their expressions. Ino looked scared, Chouji was amazed, Shikamaru had his eyebrows raised while Asuma had an impressed face.

Shikamaru helped me out of the pond as I wrung out my hair.

Asuma stood up and looked at us all," Okay, there are only two people passing right now. Those people would be Chouji and Mayumi."

"WHAT?"screeched Ino. Haha, she's angry. Asuma didn't like being yelled at though.

"Why do you think I paired you in teams? For team work! Mayumi helped out Chouji then hid herself. Chouji had followed her instructions to the point where I couldn't detect him. That's team work. Ino and Shikamaru, all you did was hide separately. I admit, Shikamaru, your hiding was impressive but you still don't understand that you needed to help Ino," Asuma took a moment to light another cigarette," I'll give you all one more chance. Chouji you're with Ino. Shikamaru you're with Mayumi. You have thirty minutes to hide. Begin."

Asuma disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Chouji and Ino took off towards the East side of the forest while Shikamaru and I stayed where we are.

"Troublesome…" I muttered.

Shikamaru nodded and began walking south.

I followed and then got an idea," We should hide together."

"What do you mean?"

"Asuma is expecting us to hide separately so why not hide together?"

Shikamaru took a moment to mull over the thought," That could work. But where to hide, is the actual question."

Nodding, I again took in my surroundings. We were in a heavily guarded redwood area. There were shrubs and there was tall grass. It was a dark eerie place with fog on the ground and shadows everywhere.

Perfect.

"Shikamaru, become a shadow between those two trees," I instructed. He didn't question me but did as I said. Once he was the shadow, carefully walked over to him, examining it.

"Move back about…. Four inches," I said stepping over the darkened shadow.

The dark space moved on its own and when I was satisfied, I transformed myself into a redwood tree. It was indeed the perfect hiding spot. It was perfect, no flaws whatsoever. None and I knew it.

Shikamaru had become a shadow of a tree that wasn't there until I became one. I was the tree with close enough branches to hide the fact that his shadow was darker than the others.

Let's see Asuma find us now.

**[] [] []**

"But Asuma Sensei!" I heard Ino whine. Oh boy. Poor Asuma.

"We've looked everywhere and we STILL can't find them!" she continued.

"All the more reason to find them," Chouji replied while shoving more chips in his mouth.

They had all reached our little area. But they took no notice of any individual tree unless they were looking at the branches for someone to be there.

Even though he couldn't see, I was staring straight at Asuma to see what he would do. He grinned. How troublesome it would be for us.

He then reached into his pouch for a smoke. That lucky bastard.

"Asuma Sensei! This is no time to be smoking! We have to find Shikamaru and Mayumi!" Ino was irritated beyond all reason.

"Just watch, Ino."

Asuma then went to every single tree and waved the cigarette around it. Crap, that was his plan?

Well it wasn't too bad. I may be a smoker but I'm not that addicted to cigarettes. Maybe Shikamaru… SHIKAMARU.

Shit. He wasn't searching for me but Shikamaru.

Great.

When Asuma Sensei reached us, I admit the scent was intoxicating for me but not enough to make me budge. He went through every shadow and yet nothing moved. Maybe because I was pretty much standing on Shikamaru so that he couldn't move, but still.

I felt my feet vibrate slightly. Shikamaru wanted it badly, and I was restricting him.

Asuma scratched his head in confusion," I'm sure that one would've worked." He had finished all the trees and we still weren't found.

He went back to the two students and thought for another moment.

"Asuma Sensei?"

"Shush, Chouji, he's thinking."

After a moment, Asuma finally spoke," Alright, they've hidden well enough. I don't doubt that they worked together or it would've been easier to find them."

He made a fire hand sign probably raising his chakra to look for us.

Three seconds later, he pointed directly at us.

"Shikamaru, Mayumi, You've been found," he stated.

Both of us waited a couple seconds then it was Shikamaru who climbed out of the shadows.

I followed the suit and transformed back into my normal self.

"'Bout time you found us. My shoulders are so stiff, what a drag," he said while cracking every bone that's humanly possible.

"You're telling me, I had to stand the whole time," I sat down on the grass and stretched my legs.

Asuma looked at us with admiration.

"I have good news if you want to hear it, hm?"

"Troublesome, but get on with it," I said through stretches.

"All of you pass. Ino and Chouji, it was half-ass team work but team work nonetheless. Mayumi, Shikamaru, your team work was outstanding and it even fooled me. You all pass."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," I started to actually get up from the ground.

"Well I'm glad to see that you're all super excited about it," Asuma said sarcastically.

"Oh don't worry about her," Shikamaru yawned," She's pissy because she hasn't had her weed yet."

Then it was Ino who popped in," You really should stop smoking, Mayumi, it's b-"

"And you really should shut your mouth before I kill you with a fax machine."

She looked at me with her mouth agape.

"Yeah, I just went MSI on your ass."

Shikamaru started laughing aloud. Okay good. He listens to good music and not that crappy shit they listen to today.

After he had stopped laughing Asuma decided to ignore whatever we said," Alright, I'll call all of you guys once we get a call for a mission. Until then I need you to train hard and such."

Asuma then just poofed away. Great. Now I'm stuck with a Barbie and two men.

Best to get my ass out of there, because Shikamaru was right, I was getting pissy because I didn't get my weed this morning. I started walking away from the others since Ino had started bitching at Shikamaru and Chouji was….just there.

Once I was out of the forest, my hand reached into my pocket and pulled out a precious little thing.

After it was lighted, I was in heaven. People say it's bad for you to smoke, and yeah it is, but hell, it gets you away from reality when you can't sleep n' dream.

Making my way to a grassy spot in a meadow nearby, I began to think about a whole bunch of stuff. Something that popped up in my mind was why all the girls like Sasuke. I mean honestly, there's nothing to him. How come no one liked the good guys like… Kiba? Naw, he's not my type.

Hm, who is my type? They have to be okay with me smoking, if not then it's me leaving. They have to be cute. Let's see, what else is there? They don't have to be funny and they shouldn't try too hard. They can't want me to screw them on the second date.

Naruto? No, he's too hyperactive for me.

Definitely not Sasuke.

Neji… was… eh…. Too much of a workaholic.

Shikamaru?

Woah… hold on a minute. Me and Shikamaru? Yeah, that's hilarious. Shikamaru… isn't…

He doesn't care if I smoke, he IS cute, he doesn't try to do anything and I doubt that he'll even try to get in your pants for a while.

I pondered the thought for a moment. Me and Shikamaru? Just... well… maybe… but no. I doubt that this could ever work.

My subconscious wasn't lying when it said that Shikamaru was cute. But I doubt that he'd ever like a girl like me. We'd probably be nothing more than friends and I wouldn't want to ruin that over a dumb little crush. So no. I can't like Shikamaru.

How troublesome was this?

Speak of the devil.

"Mind if I join you?"

I opened my eyes to see Shikamaru (with a cigarette) standing above me.

"I couldn't stop you," I said plainly.

"I doubt that," he said lying down next to me. He put one hand behind his head before taking the cigarette out.

Eyes sent him a questioning look.

"Because you know what my technique is. I don't know yours. So you could easily manipulate me into your liking," he explained.

I rolled over the explanation. It's not that I didn't want people to know, it's just that it takes up A LOT of chakra. I don't like bragging at all but I have to say my jutsu, neglecting the price, it was pretty damn powerful. It was a special thing that I myself made up since my parents aren't ninja, but it allows me to control every muscle in one's body. This also allows me to bend the laws of physics and have them under my will. Like if I wanted, with a flick of the hand Shikamaru would be up in the air suspended by nothing. Cool right?

Only downside is that I need to see the person. If the act calls for it and I'm blinded then I'd be at a disadvantage.

"I- I guess you're right."

"Hm."

We laid there in silence for a while until I was finally satisfied with my smoke. When I'm high I'm not all giggly, I'm more at peace and such, but my equilibrium is quite off.

"So did you come out here just to smoke?" I asked.

"I don't know, did you?"

"No."

"Then I guess I didn't."

My head snapped towards him. This guy was a bit different. I mean, I know he was lazy as hell but honestly, he wasn't a kind of a guy to be like… this. He was more straightforward and didn't play games like that. Oh boy. This is now troublesome.

I'm not a denying person. If I like someone I'll admit it to myself but not to them.

There's a saying out there- "No one is scared to say 'I love you.' They're afraid of the reaction." And that explains my reason completely.

I sighed.

Maybe some things were just better left unsaid.

But now, I'm curious as to why he is playing games with words.

**[] [] []**

Done and Did.

R&R Please. Flames are welcome because I learn from them. ;D


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I do own my OC's**

**I'm sorry for being a late updater-person but as it is, trouble came up and the idea of a laptop being around me was not permitted.**

**Thus, I now present the next chapter of Clouds plus Drugs**

**Chapter 3**

It's been about two months since I've passed my little exam from Asuma. It turns out I'm suitable to work with Ino just as well with Shikamaru. Not so much Chouji since he's a close range fighter as opposed to the three of us being long/mid-ranged fighters. But everyday it was the same old thing. I show up for our "missions", then get yelled at for not doing anything, then go home to do whatever it is I do.

Honestly, I don't know what I do. It ranges from sleeping to pretending I'm a zebra because I'm that high. My mother actually kept her word though, she's been able to supply me but that doesn't mean she's any less hateful to me than we are as a family.

Speaking of family I'm supposed to get a sibling in the next seven months. Goodie, while they're out being 'intoxicated in pub-lic' I have to watch the little runt. Troublesome it was, can't they get a sitter? No. We live in the ghetto part of Konoha and the only sitter available is some 400 year old woman who can't even stand.

But whatever, I'm not worried. If anything, the kid will take after my footsteps, become a stoner and a ninja or one of the two.

Speaking of stoners, weed was one of the only ways to actually make me work. Asuma figured it out once he did it to Chouji. Not that he smokes like me, no he's clean, but when Asuma snagged chips away from Chouji, the kid was all set in motion and was roaring like a lion for his food. So then Asuma was all player and tackled my lazy ass to the ground, stole my bud which caused me to be like Chouji in the situation. He also figured it out with Shikamaru and... well not so much Ino. You just mention something about Sasuke and she's on it.

Ino wasn't that much of a brat since when we first started out. The girl was actually becoming an aquaintance of mine. Not friend because, get this, I actually have a cousin named Sasuke and I was telling Asuma if he didn't give back my green I'd summon him to beat the hell out of Asuma and Ino was like "OMFG WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT SASUKE? I DIDN'T KNOW YOU LIKED HIM" and then on to a rampage about he was a total god.

But, on another note, recently (more like two maybe three days ago) Asuma told us that there's this thing called the Chunin Exams. Something where if you take this three part exam that you can pass to a Chunin. Me personally, I would like to pass because then it COULD get me out of this little team that they've put me in. I'd only have to take missions when I absolutely needed money or something.

As of now, I'm heading to the bridge between the houses of the middle class and the market because we got requested to do some escort mission to the Land of Rain and the client specifically asked for the smartest team.

This is where I wished I was Naruto.

The village was unsightly happy and busy as I walked the stone streets. Many people where out buying their foods, or selling their products. I even saw a couple dealers that knew me. A simple nod was given for acknowledgment.

Asuma had threatend to break into my house if I showed up late one time. Me being a lazy person I am said "pish, whatever." So I find myself asleep at the training grounds with my Sensei holding in a bag my greens and cigarettes. He used me as an example for the next person that was late. Thus bringing me to the point where I'm not late but a hell of a lot more grumpy.

Up ahead was the bridge I was supposed to be meeting my team at. There stood Shikamaru just arriving. Our schedualed time was 9:30. It's 9:12.

"What a drag."

"You're telling me."

"You don't have to deal with a mother."

"You don't have to deal with an alarm clock."

This was a normal conversation between Shikamaru and I. Since I've been on his team, I've figured that there was more to the guy that I used to ditch with. He seemed straightfoward like I thought but in reality, he sorta was, but he also liked to play mind games. More of to Ino just to piss her off.

Troublesome as it was, I had arguments with myself every now and then about liking the kid. I guess I was attracted to the fact that he didn't mind me smoking but that's the only reason. My mind would conjure up these crazy and disturbing thoughts that made me argue with my imagination until the late hours of the night. For once, I thought about consulting someone but then I looked at my options.

Ino, Sakura or my mother.

I choose D- none of the above.

As it is, I settled my mind on the fact about smoking. Nothing else.

Chouji joined a half asleep team with a full on cheery mood.

"Hey, Mayumi?"

A tired look was sent his way.

Chouji held out a cup towards me," I think you should try this. It's coffee, Shikamaru can't stand the taste but it has caffeine so maybe it'll help."

I stared at the cup that Chouji held out for me.

"The taste is bitter, but like Chouji said, it wakes you up," Shikamaru stated as he took the other cup from Chouji's arms.

I sighed," I'll try almost anything once."

"Oh so you'll try quiting your drugs?" said a a familiar blonde's voice.

"Again, weed isn't a drug. It's a fucking plant."

"It's still illegal."

It was too early to deal with this girl so I growled at her.

"As for you Shikamaru, you should try quitting smoking cigarettes. You don't want to end up like Asuma, do you?"

"I couldn't care less."

Ino then did this little hair flip thing," I bet none of you could go one day without your addictions."

"Fine, then I challenge you to go for the rest of the day without mentioning your precious Sasuke," Shikamaru challenged his team mate.

Ino looked taken aback," What?"

"He challenged you with your addiction. I don't think he needs to repeat it," I yawned and finally taking the coffee that Chouji held out to me.

Shikamaru was right when he said the taste was bitter.

"Morning all," called Asuma who was walking along side a woman who looked to be in her twenties.

Instantly you could tell why she requested the smartest and not the strongest. This girl was, you could tell just by looking at her, spoiled rotten. She had the kimono, the shoes, the hair accessories and then she had the body gaurds. Two men in what looked like Rain Ninja attire seemed to be what protected her. She wanted the smartest in case she needed to be hidden and not the strongest because she already had that covered.

"This is our client, Madam Yukina. Madam Yukina, these are the ninja that will protect you during the escort," Asuma announced. Of course he should've straightened us up before saying anything.

Shikamaru sat with his back leaning against the bridge fence while my head rested on one of his shins. Chouji sat oppisite Shikamru eating his chips, then you have Ino who was doing make up to her face.

"I asked for ze smartest, not ze laziest," Yukina said with an accent that I could only imagine belonged to those in the Rain Village.

"Hmhm, you'd be surprised, Madame Yukina. Shikmaru and Mayumi are two of the smartest ninja in the village. Lazy as the two might be, they'll do just fine on the trip," Asuma said glaring at the two of us which meant he already withheld what we wanted incase we ran out.

Should've thought of that before I left the house with two day's worth of stock. Apparently, Shikamaru was thinking the same thing about his cigarettes and the look on his face said he wouldn't be sharing.

Yukina nodded," Vell, ve should get going. I do not vish to be zere all day."

"Agreed," said Asuma cheerily.

All of us began to walk towards the exit of the village in an account to get rid of this nampy pampy person.

I could tell that this girl was going to be troublesome.

Thirty minutes in and Ino was already barking at Shikamaru. Chouji was being tormented by Your Highness and I was walking next to my warden in attempts to get away from them all.

"Mayumi, mind if I ask you something?" Asuma asked suddenly.

"You already did."

"Hilarious, but on a note, you know there will be fighting in the Chunin Exams, correct?"

"I'd be Ino if I didn't," I replied lazily. The volume upped a bit since now the two conversations behind me had combined into one about Shikamaru being lazy compared to Chouji's weight.

"Again, hilarious. But mind me asking, what is your jutsu? You can't survive on Replacement and Shadow Clones forever."

I sighed," I know, but I plan on keeping my jutsu a secret until the correct moment. Shikamaru gave me a hint that I have the advantage above anyone right now since those who face me don't know what to expect."

"Well said, but what do you have to back up on if your jutsu fails?"

"Why are you interrogating me? It's troublesome to answer all your questions."

"Because even though you might hate or think 'it's troublesome', I'm still your Sensei and Mentor so I have to know if you're going to be stable at exams such as the Chunin," Asuma snapped at me.

I flinched at his tone since he was normally a calm person. "I don't need a Mentor to watch over my every move. I work better alone."

"Well maybe that's your problem, Mayumi. Find a friend who you can depend on in case your ever in need of them! Stop acting like you can handle on your own because one day your going to need someone's help!" he yelled at me. This went unnoticed by the rest of the escort, seeing as how they were all yelling at each other.

"One day I probably will! But so what? As of now, I'm fine. I live in a drug house, with parents who couldn't care less about me and I still manage to walk on my own two feet. If all you're going to do is yell at me then I might as well switch places with the Madam's body gaurd so I can ignore you with distance," I snapped at him.

Judging by the look on his face Asuma hadn't known about my parents nor the fact about my living quarters. Not that I cared, I meant about what I said and jumped back to the body gaurd to tell him we were switching places.

I sighed. Two minutes after switching places I felt guilty for snapping at Asuma. The reason why I was irritable was because I had been trying to savor my green in order to make it last. But as of now I needed an inhale badly.

Pulling out an already rolled joint it was lit and I calmed down.

Madam Yukina smelled the smoke and turned away from Chouji to glower at me.

Great.

"Vhat is zat you are doing?" she seemed to growl. I don't know it was more of a kitty hiss but still.

"Oh yeah, you don't know, Mayumi smokes weed. Just like Shikamaru and Asuma smoke cigarettes," Ino suddenly sounded smart.

"I vill not have that filth done in my prezence!" she seemed to steam.

"Touch my weed and I will destroy you."

"She will," Chouji shuddered at the memory.

_Once upon a time Chouji decided to see what the big deal was about smoking. Little did he know that Mayumi is very protective of her plant since Asuma-Sensei had broken into her house and stolen it before. Thus, when Mayumi saw Chouji touching one of her precious-es, Chouji was introduced to a woman's wrath causing the poor kid to end up in the hospital for two weeks._

_The End. _

There brought the end of Madam Yukina's protests about me smoking.

**[] [] [] **

After a day of walking the sun was about to set so Asuma decided to set up camp.

It had been custom for Shikamaru and I to share sleeping space since neither of us carried blankets or wanted to sleep next to Ino. Chouji had his own body heat so he slept on his own.

Weird to say I had to admit Shikamaru had become my best friend. We were almost as close as Chouji and him. I was proud to say that as well. Of course I hated when my mind told me to like him in a romantic way but I'm a girl. Troublesome it is to be a girl.

"Shikamaru and Mayumi, you take first watch," Asuma said roughly. He must be mad that I snapped at him. Whatever. He can be mad if he wants.

After dinner was eaten (us eating catched fish and Madam Yukina eating whatever the hell royal people eat.) The Royals, Ino, Asuma and Chouji all went for sleep. Shikamaru and I sat a the edge of the campsite, back to back in hopes to keep warm.

"We'd better get paid good for this woman," Shikamaru stated.

"For this princess? We definatley should."

Ten minutes later of a uneventful watch I positioned my self so that I could lean my head back on Shikamaru's shoulder.

Said kid yawned and adjusted to the new position. With our cheeks pressed against each other my face became warm. Well, my right side of my face.

"We're watching the stars."

"Yeah, it's more entertaining that watching trees."

"Touche."

It wasn't long until I drifted off. I doubted that anyone would steal the Royal right now seeing as we had a Jounin, two other high ranked ninjas from another country, two of the smartest from Konoha and another two that aren't the best but are effective.

_Snap!_

My eyes popped open from that of a dream forgotten instantly. I was surprised by the position I awoke. I was laying down with my shoulder pushed up against Shikamaru's and his neck cradling my head. My body was curled up to the point where my knees touched his head but what surprised me the most was that there was something secured in my hair. Both hands were moved to find where they were to find that they were at my stomach. Reaching up with my own I felt that it was Shikamaru's hand that held my head.

Something knotted in my stomach as I lifted his hand away from my head and slipped over onto my front side. I stared at our laced fingers for a moment as the knotting in my stomach grew.

"Troublesome," I muttered as shook my head and gently tossed his hand to his chest.

I sat cross legged and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. The sun was now rising and the snap I heard was a twig under Asuma's feet.

"You fell asleep."

"Good to know no one abducted our fellowship," I snapped.

Asuma sighed. He obviously didn't want to continue what happened yesterday onto today ," Mayumi, I'm sorry about yesterday."

"It's whatever. Sorry I snapped at yeh."

Somehow a smirk got plastered on his face as he walked over and ruffled my hair.

During his stretches and me just trying to wake up Asuma startled me; "Glad you found someone you can _lean _on."

His attention was directed at a sleeping Shikamaru and heat covered my face," It's not like that! We just fell asleep weirdly. That's it!"

"Uh-huh, yeah sure."

Kami, this guy was troublesome.

"Kiss my ass, Asuma."

I wanted to forget about the little mishap that went unkown to the Nara kid and just get this mission over with.

Soon camp was packed up and everyone was up except Madam Yukina who was to be carried until she awoke.

"You wouldn't mind carrying me would you?" I asked hopefully to her other body gaurd. He looked at me weirdly.

"I'll take that as a no."

I stared over at Shikamaru who caught my glare," Don't even think about it."

"Dammit."

The journey to the land of Rain by tree jumping takes two days and one night. Which meant that in a few short hours I'd be rid of this Royal Princess and be a happier person.

During the trip Asuma taunted us with our supply which happened to be stolen from us while we slept.

I should seriously start sleeping with a chakra barrier around me. Ehh... too much work. Ugh, but my marijuana.

'"STOP STEALING MY SHIT, BRO." In which, I got a laugh to the face.

Yukina stayed upon her gaurd's back for the rest of the trip seeing as she wasn't able to jump the trees, and "we were too little to be carrying a goddess." Kami, this woman was full of herself.

Much to my pleasure we arrived at the town where she was to be dropped off an hour earlier than expected.

The town was a dreary place but it held up it's name. They don't call it the Land of Rain for nothing. There were many buildings underneath a gray sky. Sadly, we hadn't really thought of rain so we had no umbrella's.

Except for Yukina.

The gaurd's took lead as we were lead into a rich looking manor with a plaque that read 'Hatsumoto'. Yukina Hatsumoto? Never heard of her.

Once inside we were offered towels to dry off as we waited for our fee to be paid. It was a quaint house, nothing TOO fancy until our employer, Head Hatsumoto, entered to room. You could tell he was loaded. So loaded, in fact, he wore ryo bills as earrings. FUCKING EARRINGS, BRO.

So this guy starts talking and I'm pretty sure me, Shikamaru, nor Ino were listening to the guy. I only paid attention when I got my reward of 5,000 ryo and until he called out specifically for me.

"Vhich vone ov you iz Mayumi Etsuko?" he said in his weird accent.

"The one with the green hair," Asuma pointed at me as I recovered for a huge yawn.

"May I speak tho you alone, pleeze?"

"Uh...k."

My team and I exchanged weird looks, but they soon complied to his order. As soon as everyone left it felt kind of awkward to be alone in the room with him. I suddenly felt self conscious of my body. This guy has that total rapist face going on, he's got a pot belly in a Yakuta that could probably buy me 1,000 lbs of weed and he's got body gaurds gaurding the outside of the door so that I'm the only in the room with him. Obviously I'm going to feel uncomfortable.

"Etsuko-San, I am avare ov your living condeetions."

Silence.

"My..living condit-...K.."

"My son, Ihmaru, would like ve to ask you iv you vould like a residency vere in ze Land of Rain. Due to your habits ve vould make zure zat you vould get vhat you need."

It took a moment before what he said sunk into my brain.

"You want me to live here?"

"Yes, zat vould be correct."

"Uh...wait, who the hell is your son?"

"Ihmaru Hatsumoto. Vou should zave zeard of vim. Ve's known as 'Time Varper'."

...TIme Warper? Oh. OH. Okay. I know him. He's this bad musician who is a cross between country and techno.

"In ze Land of Rain ve don't have many ninja. Too have you live vere vould be an honor," he said before looking deep into my eyes which made me feel like he was looking into my soul. "Zo, Etsuko-San, vat do you say?"

[] [] []

Hopefully this works for you readers.

Mainly because I thought of Fluer DeLacor's voice when I thought of Yukina (For those who are nerds like me and watch Harry Potter.)

R&R Flames are welcome since I learn from them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I do own my OC**

**Chapter 4**

I sat on the edge of the sidewalk with my legs dangling over the edge. In the Land of Rain they have a really big lake so it looks like an ocean. I guess it's cool.

After I was given a position to live here, I didn't give an answer. Literally. I got up and left without saying a word. Probably because I was in shock that someone would actually offer me something. They hadn't been eavsdropping but my team was interested in what the employer had said to me. I passed them off and headed outside.

My mind needed to be cleared to decide on this decision. I got many weird and a couple worried looks as I smoked in my own peace. What the hell is their problem? Never seen a stick before?

_Why can't I just be like water? Water doesn't have any problems. It's just minding it's own business. Water is...water..._

Inhale, outhale, vision blur, sharpen, think.

_So what would happen if I did accept his offer? Pros: I'd have a nice home, full supplies, and not too much work. Cons: I'd be away from home._

Home? What home? I don't have a REAL home... well I do but it doesn't feel like one. I guess I call it home because of the people there. My team mates, in=n two months they've become my family.

My parents were trash bags and Asuma, Chouji, Ino and Shikamaru filled the void.

But could I give up that to live in peace without drama?

UGH! TOO TROUBLESOME!

I ran my fingers through my bangs and inhaled, exhaled deeply.

"Seems like you have a lot on your mind," said a familiar lazy voice.

I turned my head sideways to see Shikamaru standing over me with his own cigarette in his mouth.

"Yeah... I guess I do."

"Glad I'm not you."

"Shut up."

Shikamaru let a laugh. That's one of the things I would have to miss if I moved to the Land of Rain.

"It must be serious if you're staring at me like that," Shikamaru said as he caught me staring at him.

"I guess it is serious," I said and leaned on my elbow. The boy sat down next to me and gave a stare that said 'you should tell me what happened'.

"I got offered a chance to live here for free and they'd give me a full supply if I say I'll protect Your Highness."

Shikamaru was definitely surprised at what I said.

"Man, I'm REALLY glad I'm not you."

"Aw, you're not going to miss me?" I jokingly pouted.

"No, of course I'll miss you. And no matter how much a drag it is for me to do it, but I'll kick your ass if you decide to accept his offer," he playfully punched my arm.

"I'd like to see you try Pineapple-Boy," I laughed.

"Pineapple-Boy?"

"Yeah..because of," I fiddled with his ponytail," of this.. thing.. It looks like a pineapple."

Shikamaru smirked then started poking my face," Yeah.. well your face...looks like..."

Eyebrows raised.

"Like?...a face?"

"Yeah...wait no! Dammit!"

I laughed a good real laugh. This descision is going to be a hell of a lot more troublesome than I wish it to be.

We sat there on the sidewalk smoking in a peaceful silence but still getting many stares from the people passing by.

"What is their problem?" Shikamaru stated finally having enough of their stares.

"My exact thoughts."

My mind wandered as I thought of what it would be like here. It would rain everyday, but I'd be indoors. It seemed like the best choice to live here. But there had to be a catch. You can't just offer someone you don't know a nice home with a full supply of pot. That's just not right.

"We should get back before Asuma-Sensei gets all pissy," Shikamaru stated as he stood up and offered a hand.

I took it seeing as an easier way of getting up.

Too bad it was raining.

Getting up with the help of Shikamaru's hand in mine, my footing slipped causing both of us to slip and fall. Before I actually made contact with the water below me, an immense pain ripped through my face as my jaw slammed against the concrete.

I saw stars before my eyes as I slipped underneath the water.

Will the trouble never stop?

Kicking my legs I resurfaced with the taste of metal in my mouth. Shikamaru surfaced a couple seconds after me with a bleeding mouth and nose as well.

Trying my best to stay above the surface I grabbed for the edge of the sidewalk while trying not to really notice that my jaw was in so much pain.

Who knows whether it was the lake water, the rain or acutal tears but my face was wet and my eyes burned so who really knew if I actually cried or not.

Shikamaru wasn't doing to well though seeing as his mouth was bleeding furiously. I linked my arm through his and kept him surfaced as I figured he was on the brink of consciousness.

With one hand I did the best I could to try and pull myself and Shikamaru to saftey though with the rain and a wet hand there was no such luck. Vision blurred I did the best I could to look up to see if anyone had notice our little 'trip'. Luckily, there was. Above me was a silhouette of a man that I could barely see since the rain was coming down to hard. I blinked furiously to see if I could make him out, but it did not happen.

The man reached down and pulled both of us up and out of the water. I can't remember much about him but I do recall seeing blood on the sidewalk and that the guy had multiple peircings on his face before I blacked out from loss of blood.

**[] [] []**

Curse words flooded my mind when I awoke. All around me was white and way, WAY too bright.

I tried to speak since my vision wasn't available but as it where my mouth was in pain. A lot more than I could've wanted.

This is way too much trouble that I could want.

The room finally came into focus and I saw that it was a hospital room we were in. In the bed next to me Shikamaru was awake but had his tongue sticking out in front of a mirror. At first I was confused by what he was doing but then came to realize he was looking at his tongue.

As it were, Shikamaru had two lines on either side of his mouthed muscle.

"Oh I see you two are finally awake," said a nurse who walked in with two charts.

Both of us looked at each other with confusion then back at her giving her an intention to continue with an explanation.

"Well you see, apparently you both hit concrete and were left on the outside doorstep of the hospital. You, Nara-Sama bit your tongue quite hard to the point where there will be scarring from the stitches as well as a bruised nose.

"As for you Etsuko-Sama, you have a broken jaw that should mend quite quickly due to our medics here but it'd be best if you not open your mouth to much."

"But how did we get here?" Shikamaru said but said it weirdly due to an inconveinance of stitching.

"Oh, be thankful for this but you were brought here by Lord Pein," she said smiling.

I tilted my head to the side in a response since she didn't seem to catch on that we were from Konoha and not here until I pointed to the Leaf headband on my leg.

"Lord Pein is our god. So is Angel Konan. They watch over the city in hopes to keep peace. Glad they are too, or you two would've bled to death," she said cheerfully and started to write on our charts.

These people had a god? And an angel? The hell? My thoughts of staying here were deminished drastically. No way in hell was I going to live here if there's this... freak going around and acting like a damn god. Forget it. I'll take my chances with my mother, be it troublesome or not.

The nurse saw my apalled expression and gave me a questioning look.

"Is there something wrong, Etsuko-Sama?"

Figuring her advice is correct I didn't open my mouth but held out my hand for a piece of paper and a pen. Catching on to what I wanted she grabbed a blank paper from her clipboard and handed it to me along with her pen.

The nurse waited until I finished writing to read what I wrote:

_First, stop calling me 'Etsuko-Sama'. I don't like it. Second, when can we leave? I want to leave this place as soon as possible._

"Do you perfer just 'Etsuko' then?"

I nodded once my bored expression returning to replace the disgusted one.

"Well, Etsuko, you and Nara-Sama may leave in about an hour once we get your perscriptions since you are going to need the pain killers in a little bit."

'In a little bit'? Pish, I need them now.

Shikamaru must've been thinking the same thing because he cursed and layed back down probably going to take a nap.

Lazy fuck.

The nurse looked a little taken aback by Shikamaru's outburst but then it clicked.

I grabbed the clipboard and scribbled quickly:

_How long have we been here?_

"You and Nara-Sama have been here for two days. You've had some visitors say that you must heal quickly but they didn't say why."

I looked at her as if she had two heads:

_We're ninja from the Leaf Village. Of course they want us to heal quickly. This isn't our land and we don't like it here._

Again, the nurse looked taken aback. "Well, I AM sorry, Etsuko. I did not know that our city doesn't fit your... standards," she said sharply.

"I wouldn't anger Mayumi too much," said Asuma, who now entered the room. "She's not the nicest of people when she hasn't had her joints taken."

The nurse, who didn't catch on that by 'joints' he meant weed, looked at him with a confused expression.

Ino followed in by Asuma as did Chouji who went to Shikamaru's bedside as Ino took mine.

Ha. Divide of the Sexes.

Ino looked at me with a smirk," How ya doin'?"

My lips formed into a smirk itself as I wrote down my response;

_She said I'm not supposed to open my mouth... so I can't talk._

"Lucky you have an excuse to not respond," Shikamaru said (who apparently couldn't sleep due to recent events.) after Ino read out the response. The Nara kid then pointed at me," You," he said," Are going to be the death of me."

I grinned in a sheepish respone. Ow, bad idea.

Soon enough, we were emitted out of the hospital with our pain meds, where the nurse seemed to be happy to get rid of us. But it was as well as I who was happy to leave, but there was one thing left to do before leaving this town permanetly.

"Actually, Mayumi, we're going to have to stay here longer than expected," Asuma interjected when I started to head for the mansion. My eyes locked onto his as if to say "explain yourself."

"Well, since we've run out of supplies, for just us, we have to wait for the people of the Rain to get us some so we can leave in peace."

Ino began to twitch in irritation,"So, you're saying that we have to stay in this cloudy place so we can get some food? We don't even need food-"

"DON'T NEED FOOD? WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR HEAD WOMAN?"

We all were starstruck at Chouji. Apparently, saying food didn't matter, was like saying shit about someone's family. Interesting.

"What a drag. Well, what's the damage? How long are we staying here?" Shikamaru groaned as he leaned on a light post. We had stopped in the middle of the street to speak, and also, it had started raining. For the fifteenth time that day. Exaggeration? I think not. As it were, we all began to get soaked.

"Ugh, this is ruining my hair," Ino began to complain.

"Look, Ino, it's Sasuke," Shikamaru said dramatically and pointed behind her. As it were, she turned to find no one there.

"You're so annoying! You're just like Naruto!" she screamed at him.

I coughed and laughed at the same time and then cursed in pain.

"Mayumi, are you okay?" Asuma asked concernly, but I didn't hear him. My mind was fuzzy and I couldn't think straight. Two hands were put on my shoulders and stabalized me so where I was leaning on someone. Voices could be heard, but none could really be registered. I heard my name, but I couldn't understand who said, or why. My temples began to pound furiously and I gritted my jaw in pain. Bad idea, the pain ripped through my teeth, and I felt tears form in my eyes. I began to cough furiously, and the taste of copper flooded my mouth. This was one taste I couldn't stand and I spit. Worst thing I could possible do , was spit. A blood curdling scream ripped through my throat but probably didn't make it out of my mouth. The pain I was feeling was literally, the worst I'd felt in my entire life.

Yes, I had had broken bones, fractured femurs and other shit like that, but this topped it off.

Though, as quickly and painfully as it appeared, it left. One second, I'm seeing my life flash before my eyes, and the next, I'm completely fine, as if nothing ever happened.

I was confused beyond reason, and so was everyone else. Shikamaru helped me to my feet before trying to say anything.

"Mayumi, are you alright?" Asuma held on to my shoulders, as if he was holding me up. My voice wouldn't work, and I was too scared to even open my jaw, so I nodded.

"Are you sure?" he asked. I nodded, a little more force this time, and took one step then another, then ate the pavement.

**Normal P.O.V**

The green haired kunoichi laid silent and unmoving within the hospital bed sheets.

The Nara offspring sat beside his female friend, fast asleep in a chair beside her bed.

The Yamanaka heiress stood looking out the window of the hospital room, remaining to her own thoughts.

The Akimichi boy remain eating various junk food items over in the west corner.

Yet, above all, the mentor, sensei and leader of the group stood in the doorway, waiting for his pupil to return to consciousness.

The three conscious ninja had been waiting in the hospital of Rain in hopes that their friend would recover from her unusual black out.

It was then that the nurse and doctor appeared within the room to tell them the news.

"First, we must ask a question to see if this information we have is even fertile," said the doctor.

Asuma nodded his head," Go for it."

"Was Miss Etsuko on any narcotics?" asked the nurse, blunt and plain.

The blonde kunoichi looked at the other female, who lay motionless on the bed. Marijuana was not a narcotic. It was an herb, so the answer would be no, in which she quoted," No. Mayumi was a pot-head. Not a junkie."

"You're stating that Miss Etsuko was, in fact, on some sort of illegal drug?" the nurse replied, in a slightly irritated tone.

Asuma was the one who answered this time," Yes. Mayumi-Chan was a regular marijuana smoker. What's the big deal? She has none on her, therefore she'll not be under arrest, correct?"

"No, of course not," the doctor answered," We suspect that Miss Etsuko's black out was caused by withdrawl."

"Your theory is wrong," the Nara boy spoke with a yawn," Weed doesn't have withdrawl subjects except for anger spikes and or slight mood swings. Sometimes not even that, therefore your theory is wrong."

"How do you know this, Shikamaru?" the blonde ninja asked.

"When you hang around Mayumi a lot, you pick up a few things."

"Excuse me, the nurse and I need a moment to talk," said the doctor, who, true to his word, left with the nurse tailing behind him.

The team of genin looked at each other silently, then at their sensei, then to their unconscious team mate.

"What if Mayumi was on... y'know-" Chouji began, but was cut off by Shikamaru," Stop it. That's not possible. She told me herself that she wouldn't try anything besides weed because she didn't want to become like her mother. Mayumi isn't a junkie."

Yamanaka nodded in agreement, while Asuma opened the hospital window where his student was.

The two employee's of the hospial returned with what looked like various papers and charts," Sign these."

Asuma took the papers," Why should I?"

"Because we're letting Miss Etsuko go without turning her into ANBU. Now leave, or have your fellow comrade be arrested," the doctor said gravely.

"Wait! Mayumi wasn't on anything though, why is she being released," Akimichi stood up.

The doctor turned sharply on the slightly chubby boy," Your friend here has obviously been lying straight to your face. She has high traces of heroin within her system and is lucky to be alive after her seizure. Now," he turned to Asuma," sign the papers, gather your belongings and get out of this country, or face the authorities."

The Jounin remain unmoving, unsure what to do, and eternally shocked. His student was a junkie and she was able to cover it up so well that he didn't see it? That's not possible. His second female student understand their position and hastily yanked the papers away from her sensei, signed them and shoved them back at the doctor.

"Shikamaru, get Mayumi. Chouji, get our shit together. Asuma, let's go," she then turned to the two medical comprenders," I'll see both of you in hell."

**[] [] []**

The squad of four had made it out of the hospital without making a scene, but all of them were confused. Was their friend really a junkie? They didn't want to believe it, but the hospital charts that they had obtained said what they feared.

"I don't beleive it," Chouji stated after a moment of looking at his team mates.

"I don't want to either," Asuma sighed," But we'll just have to wait until she wakes up."

"She's not going to be able to speak," the Nara boy pointed out.

"She can write," Asuma growled.

"Asuma-Sensei, you don't actually think that Mayumi-Chan was avid on heroin, do you?" Chouji whimpered.

"I don't want to," he repeated," but the papers-"

"Are you actually going to believe what they said?" Shikamaru snapped.

"What choice do I have, Shikamaru? They're from the medical core and these are her test results AND THEY SAY SHE'S A FUCKING HEROIN ADDICT," Asuma roared at his pupil.

"WHAT IF THEY'RE LYING? WHAT IF THEY'RE A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT?" he shouted back just as loud.

"Stop it!" screamed Ino," Stop fighting. This will get us no where," she whispered now," Stop it."

"Ino's right you two," Chouji tried to file himself between his Sensei and his best friend," we shouldn't fight. Let's wait for Mayumi-Chan to wake up, then we can settle this out."

Before anyone could say anything, Asuma left, without a word. The Nara boy stood, staring after his Sensei with a look of pure hatred.

"Shikamaru," whispered Ino, in hopes that maybe he would be a lot calmer now that the adult left.

"WHAT?" he screamed at her. Her blue eyes brimmed with tears as Shikamaru's brown ones glared.

"What's gotten into you?" her words were barely registered through the pitter-patter of rain that had begun around them. The street was abandon, an alleyway was what they were in. The two buildings towered over them. The city only made their situation worse, seeing as the Land of Rain was nothing like Konoha. The cement filled streets held their worries. The brick built buildings held their fears. The rain that fell upon them held their hopes and after everything they'd been taught, all about concealing their emotions, all of it went unused. Now they were screaming at each other over nothing.

The Nara boy cursed at his blonde team mate and strode over to his unconscious one. The question that had been haunting Team 10 was now setting in his mind as he cradled her face. He studied her features, as if he were trying to remember if it ever looked pure. Her pale lips that held a silver ring, had they really been spewing lies? Shikamaru's thumb ran over her piercing as if it held the answer.

Behind him, Chouji had suggested to Ino (silently, through looks) that maybe it'd be best if they left, in which, they departed, leaving the Nara boy with his team mate and his best friend.

His thumb ran over her piercing again, this time he hoped she would wake up. She didn't.

His thoughts became harsh, then they became apathetic. Nara didn't want to believe that his friend was into something that could easily kill her. He didn't want to think about any of this. It was such a drag for him.

His other hand found it's way to the top of his head, and he pulled on his hair. Some of the strands became undone and landed in his face.

"Please," he whispered to no one. He didn't know what to make of this, and he now felt like nothing could ever make him happy again. He of course logic'd that out and tried to remain optimistic, but failed miserably. Brown eyes closed shut, as gray ones opened.

Mayumi finally awoke from her black out, and found herself in her friend's arms. If this didn't confuse her, then nothing did. A slight rush of saliva flooded into her mouth and she swallowed it. This, she found out, was a bad idea. Her throat was still majorly sore as was her jaw.

If it was on cue, Shikamaru opened his eyes to see Mayumi's looking right at him.

**Mayumi's P. O. V.**

I was puking up my guts. My life has literally gone to shit, and I don't want to deal with it. This wasn't my fault, so why should I have to endure this? Ugh, this all too troublesome. I know what would solve this, but it would only make my situation worse.

Fuck it.

Rolling away from my vomit, I sat up and leant against the wall that led inside the building. Easily, I reached into my shuriken holder and grabbed my little baggie full of sweet candy. It had finally stopped raining, so I didn't need to worry about my papers getting wet.

I rolled, lit and smoked. The burning sensation in the back of my throat told me that soon I could forget. I held my breath longer than normal on the last puff. Maybe I hoped that it would kill me? I don't know.

As I floated away from reality, I watched the people below me and replayed the scene in my head.

_**~Flashback~**_

_"Mayumi?" _

_My throat and jaw hurt like hell, so I nodded instead of speaking. I had just woken up from a who-knows how long blackout to find Shikamaru holding me like I was dead._

_"Mayumi," his voice was grave,"I need you to answer something, and be honest."_

_Nope, I'll answer with the most ridiculous answer I can think of just because you said not too._

_I nodded._

_What the hell has gotten into him? He's acting like Sasuke. _

_"Mayumi, have you done anything besides weed?"_

_The question completely caught me off guard. I wake up from a damn coma and my best friend asks me if I'm a junkie? This is just too damn troublesome for me. _

_I sat up and looked at my ponytailed friend and gave him a look that said "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_"Answer me, Mayumi," Shikamaru growled," Now."_

_I was taken aback by his tone of voice, in which I narrowed my eyes and gave him my honest answer. Shikmaru never yelled at me before. He never even seemed annoyed at me. Now he's treating me like I'm some sort of Mist Ninja that killed his entire family._

_His eyes changed when he saw me give my answer. They turned from hurt and confused to angry and accusing._

_"You're lying."_

_I raised an eyebrow._

_"You're lying, Mayumi. You are."_

_Shikamaru was shaking his head, and tried to stop it by having his hands grasp his skull. What the hell was he talking about? He noticed that I was just staring at him, so he handed me a packet. At first, I was confused, but then I looked closer and it was my hospital record._

_I read it._

_Shikamaru stood up and held his hand out to me._

_I took it as he started again,"Tell me the truth, Mayumi. Have you done anything?"_

_I gave my same answer._

_Then. _

_Everything stopped. _

_Shikamaru Nara, the laziest, calmest person in Konoha, was screaming, yelling, hollering, whatever you want to call it, he was doing it. His eyes became bloodshot and it was one line that made me speak again._

_"YOU FUCKING LIAR."_

_"What?"_

_It was a whisper._

_He said nothing but his angry expression turned to a shocked one._

_"Repeat what you said, Shikamaru," I whispered hoarsley._

_He shook his head and turned fully towards me. His face said everything that needed to be said, and now it was my turn to snap. My screeches and screams pierced every crevice withing earshot. Blood drew in my mouth, but this time I ignored it. The pain I felt in my mouth couldn't stop me from breaking and blaring my anger on him._

_"YOU KNOW I HAVE NO REASON TO LIE, SO YOU KNOW I'M NOT A JUNKIE"_

_"THEN WHY DO THE PAPERS SAY YOU ARE? HUH? YOU'RE THROWING YOUR LIFE AWAY, MAYUMI!"_

_There I stopped, and my eyes burned with tears," You're so fucking wrong, Shikamaru."_

_His expression only hardened,"How so?"_

_My eyes bore into his, and my body began to shake. It felt as if my lungs were collapsing, but I remained strong and ignored them. All this bullshit that I dealt with my mother and my father, everything that I kept inside, I finally let go._

_"I have NOTHING going for me, Shikamaru. Nothing. Stop, don't interrupt me. If I were to get murdered in a fight between an enemy ninja, almost no one would miss me. Maybe you and the rest of Team 10 might at first, but then you'd forget. My parents wouldn't give a shit, the ANBU would be happier that there's one less "criminal" and I wouldn't give a shit because I'd be fucking dead," I realized that there were tears streaming down my face," You have a family and friends who fucking love you, Shikamaru, I barely have you to keep me from just going on an over dose. But what does it matter now that you think I'm lying straight to your face?" my voice began to crack," Huh? WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT MATTER SHIKAMARU? WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT MATTER? Maybe I'd be better off dead so you wouldn't have to deal with my bullshit-"  
>I was cut off by a fist connecting with my face.<em>

_"Shut up, Mayumi," he growled. _

_I was beyond shocked that he actually punched me but natural instincts kicked in._

_The next thing that went down was me tackling him like football season and then it was full brawl. Punches, kicks, blocks, bites and scratches were made. Grunts, moans, yells, and swears were said. Tears, sweat and blood mixed together as our knuckles collided._

_*Shadow Possesion Jutsu*_

_My body froze, as my body was quick to match his. Sweat was building on our brows, and it was then that I knew that if I wanted to win this fight between my best friend, he'd have to see my jutsu at last._

_*Ningyō no karada__ no Jutsu*_

_His shadow instantly returned to his own body, as he trembled from his legs._

_"M-my body-"_

_My fingers twiched as I commanded his legs to buckle and make him preceave himself on his knees. Three seconds have passed and crossed his arms to make the muscles in his thighs tighten immensely._

_Shikamaru grunted in pain as he felt his tendons betray his will._

_One arm came back as if I were to punch him, and the other to the side: his legs crossed beneath him, causing him to look up at me._

_His brown eyes filled with tears of pain, that or it was raining. I don't know. Was it raining? My own gray irisi saw the scratches and bruises I caused. His lip was busted and I think one of his canines was missing. My grip tightened and he squeezed his eyes shut in pain._

_Then- I released my jutsu._

_"Believe what you want. I'm done."_

_**~End Flashback~**_

The scene kept replaying in my head, and I was in no mood to actually think about it, but yet I did. Great, all this trouble I caused, and it's not even my fault. Maybe if I wasn't a pot-head, no. Stop it. It's not your fault. Yes it is, it's always my fault. No it's not. Yes it is. UGH, INNER TURMOIL.

I didn't want to deal with this right now, so I closed my eyes, and inhaled the herb that gets me away from reality.

**[] [] []**

**Oh, snaps. Shit's getting real. No. Seriously.**

**Do me a favor? See that little link at the bottom that says 'Review'?**

**Can you click that and leave me your feedback? Thank you, darlings. ^~^**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Naruto but I do own my OC's**

**Chapter 5**

**Asuma's P.O.V**

All of us were running at full speed back to the alleyway where we left.

Ino and Chouji had found me about ten minutes ago, saying that they left Shikamaru with Mayumi. When we were wandering around the area of which the other two were and we heard the screaming, I had a hunch of who it was. It was an extremely difficult hunch to believe, seeing as how these two teens were the laziest people around. As it were, I knew Shikamaru's voice as well as I did Mayumi's. This was the first time I heard them this loud, though.

We raced back into the alley to find Shikamaru, on the ground and bleeding.

"Shikamaru!" exclaimed Chouji as he raced to his fallen team mate.

My green haired pupil was no where in sight.

"I'm fine," Shikamaru growled and pushed Chouji away. We were all a bit taken aback by his reaction. Shikamaru was never one to be angry.

Silence carried through us, as the rain still poured down on us.

"Where's Mayumi?" Ino finally asked.

The response she got made my heart stop.

Shikamaru shook his head and brought his knees up to his chin.

"Shikamaru," she pressured,"where's Mayumi?" He shook his head again and pressed his forehead against his knees.

Almost instantly, my Jounin training kicked in and I began to judge everything in place. Shikamaru was wounded, as if he just got in a fist fight. He wasn't talking so the argument the two had must've been brutal on him. Mayumi was also no where in sight, and I couldn't sense her chakra withing a mile radius.

"Ino, go scout out for Mayumi that way," I pointed behind me," Chouji you go that way," I pointed foward.

They nodded," SIr!"

Once gone, I bent down next to my student,"Shikamaru, tell me what happened."

I expected his response, a shake of the head and his arms only constricted harder around his legs. A sigh escaped my lips as I began to heal his external wounds. I'll admit, my medical training sucked, so I'm not the best medic around, but it'll have to do.

**Mayumi's P.O.V**

My nostrils widened a bit as I took a deep breath. My jaw still hurt, but the Mary Jane lessened the pain to where it just felt like a bruise.

I jumped a bit when I heard her voice.

"Mayumi?" my blonde team mate called. I heard the creak of the metal door that I came through to get up here. "Mayumi, I know your're hear. I can smell the weed."

I still said nothing. If she wanted to find me, she could.

She apparently did, because she found and sat down next to me. For once, she remained quiet. Both of us dangled our legs over the ledge of the building and looked out over the city. It was still raining, but the building concealed us except for our legs. The tingly sensation you get when your foot or leg falls alseep spread very lightly over my arms and neck.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ino wanting to say something, but she kept closing her mouth.

"If you're going to say something, then say it," I growled with a little more force than needed.

It was a moment, as if she was deciding on how to phrase her words," Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied nonchalantly.

She huffed," Mayumi, I know you're lying because you haven't tried to get away from me yet. I'm not asking you to tell me exactly what happened between yourself and Shikamaru, but atleast vent enough so it doesn't happen again."

"Looks like that's not the only thing I'm lying about," I sneered and inhaled.

She turned towards me a bit more, looked above me then returned back to her normal position," I don't believe the papers."

"Why not?" I exhaled.

The blonde girl looked sideways at me then grinned," Because I'm still thinner than you."

It was my turn to stare at her through red eyes, and slowly I gave a small smile in return," It seems like you're the only one who belives me," I sighed.

"That's not true," she pepped. I almost lost my balance when I turned towards her and glared.

"Okay, maybe it is, but c'mon, Mayumi. You can get through this. We'll go back to Konoha and get you tested again, because I think the hospital here is full of shit."

"Hn."

An awkward silence came over us," So..." she began.

"You want to know what happened between me and Shikamaru?"

"Correction: Shikamaru and I, and no. Well, yeah, I do, but what I want to know really badly is why it's affecting you so much. Like, you always seem like you don't care-"

"Because I don't," I interrupted. "And don't correct me on grammar," I added.

"Whatever, but now, after a tiny fight with-"

I cut her off again," It wasn't a tiny fight, Ino." I paused. It was now sinking in on just what happened," It wasn't a tiny fight," I repeated. "It was like...Shikamaru is my best friend, and I...just snapped. I look back now, and I see that if this causes Shikamaru to...if he hates me," I put my head in my hands and I realized what would happen if he hated me. My whole life would crumble. I wouldn't bother to show up for the team, I probably would get addicted to harder drugs, and I would probably die in a drive by or suicide. Had I noticed that I began to cry in front of the people who annoyed me the most? Yes, but who was I to stop myself?

The blonde put a comforting hand on my shoulder and pulled me to her. I cried silently, as my mind tormented me with what my life might become if I were to lose someone so close to me. Then of course, there was the side of my mind saying I was being irrational. One person can't do that to you, can they? Yes. They can. I already knew that answer. It's what happened to my Mom and Dad. Will it happen to me? I don't know, I mean, how could I? I'm not a fortune teller. But, I'm one of the smartest people in Konoha, so I should be able to figure out a good estimate.

Oh, the trouble this was.

Soon enough, the weed took effect, and my mind went blank. My head was above my knees so I could see the straight shot to the bottom. I had to be atleast 200 feet up. Would a jump like this kill me? Yes- Stop it. Mayumi. Knock it off.

I leaned back away from the edge. Ino looked at me silently, as if she was judging my movements. I had to say, it was slightly irritating, but what could I do? i know she was worried about me.

"C'mon," Ino stood and helped me up," Let's go back."

**Asuma's P.O.V**

I finished with Shikamaru's wounds. Some of them I was worried about, and others I saw were just minor scratches. The poor kid had a fractured rib and a couple ripped tendons. The odd thing was, is how they got ripped. It seems like chakra was used as a saw to cut through him or something but Shikamaru wouldn't talk about it. He just sat there staring at the ground.

Finally, I got him to stand up, "C'mon, Shikamaru, let's go find the others."

He didn't say anything but followed me. Chouji was found almost instantly seeing as he was just about to turn the corner.

"Find her?" Chouji shook his head and pulled out what seemed like the fiftieth bag of chips and started eating. I sighed. Hopefully Ino found her.

It seemed about 20 minutes later of aimless walking, I finally felt two familiar chakra. Ino rounded the corner of two gray buildings, and to my relief, Mayumi followed her. Then, and I don't think it was just me, but the air got awkward. Tension filled every living crevice between the two pupils and the rain began to fall harder. I stole a glance behind me to see what Shikamaru looked like, then back at Mayumi. She looked better than I expected. She only had a couple bruises. Some where a bit brutal but she seemed in good condition. Until I saw her eyes, or atleast what I could see through her bangs. Her eyes were red, signifying that she had been smoking. Estimating she'd been smoking to clear her mind, her eyes held that she was hurt, not just physically but emotionally as well. Curiosity got the better of me and I stole another glance at Shikamaru. To my own surprise, his eyes were the same as hers. Hurt but trying to hide it.

My fingernails itched the back of my head, oh boy. What the hell happened between these two?

Chouji cleared the silence," We should head back to the mansion to get out of the rain."

Ino and I nodded, but the other two remained motionless. Hoping that they would follow, I started back to the mansion. Again, to my relief, they did.

Mayumi stayed close to Ino, and Shikamaru stayed near Chouji.

This was going to be difficult.

**[] [] []**

Dinner was unintentionally set in the worst position at this time. Since our clients were loaded, they had fancy dinners, all the time. During which, we have seating arrangements. The last time Hatsumoto saw Mayumi, she was best friends with Shikamaru, giving him the impression that they were close, and therefore should sit directly next to each other. The silence between them could easily be seen by their team, but not to the client and his family. The son, Ihmaru, obviously liked Mayumi, but she remained silent and almost unmoving. The daughter, Suana, was conversing with Ino about Kami knows what. Chouji chatted happily with the butler about food and I sat, chatting with Hatsumoto every now and then, but always keeping an eye on those two. It surprised me on how depressing they could be. I mean, I heard Uchiha was bad (from Kakashi) , but this, this was just maddening. I knew it would only worsen if I tried to help, so I kept to myself and ate Chiashi quietly.

"Miss Mayumi, zoo zave not zouched zur food," Ihmaru stated. Mayumi's eyebrow twitched slightly. She's coming down and probably doesn't want to be bothered. For five minutes this went on until she had had enough. Roughly, she slammed the table, causing everyone to look at her," Excuse me," she growled,"I'm removing myself from dinner." Simply, as if this happened daily, the green haired kunoichi stood up, and walked out of the room. Looks were exchanged," Vas it zomzing I said?"

Ino facepalmed and Chouji sqawndered down even more so and myself; I did my best to keep my calm composure. This kid...

Silence became a big factor to my theory of why Shikamaru did what he did.

"I'm excusing myself, as well," he said then exited the room opposite of Mayumi. My heartbeat started racing and I threw a worried glance towards Ino, and she nodded. I watched Mayumi and Shikamaru's chakra very closely. As of now, they were on opposite sides of the mansion, and hopefully it would stay like that, not that I didn't want them to make up, but right now, who knows when a fight would abrut. Of course, I'd be stupid for wishing that.

**Mayumi's P.O.V**

Had I stayed in the dining room with the others, I surely would have lost my temper. Ihmaru. I hate him. Yes, Hate is a strong word, but I don't care. He just will not shut up. Nor does Ino, but I have to deal with her all the time, and I got used to it. But him, and his stupid accent and his improper grammar. Ugh. I hate it. Seeing as how I left abrubtly, I probably made a scene, but I don't see or hear anybody looking for me, so it's all good.

Also, had I not noticed the smoke detectors, I would've caused it to rain in the house. I decided that it was best to wait to smoke, since we were going to be here for a couple days, and I doubt anybody here carried bud, and if they did, they wouldn't give it to me. I began to shuffle my way through the halls, hoping that something amazing would happen. Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. Though, as I walked, I began to think. What I thought caused my eyes to well up with tears. Fuck. I swallowed back my tears and forced myself to think of something, anything, else but..him.. Mentally shaking my mind from it, was indeed, a bit challenging, but, I managed it. I began to think abou the Chunin Exams. Though, this didn't really lift my spirits in much way.

I came to a door that lead me outside to a courtyard. Making my way out, I saw it was drizzling, making the marble columns cool against my skin. Which, as to say, was a bit warm. I had been inside, so it should be. Leaning against the support, I began to relax. The sound of rain hitting the tin of the roofs was one of the most relaxing sounds I can imagine. It was actually my second favorite sound. My first being the sound of when someone inhales. Beautiful I breathed a sigh of content and a small smile graced my lips. The chilly air mixed with the warm, as the door was ajar, causing me to get goosebumbs. Opening my eyes, just a bit, I saw a few strands of green, but mostly I saw dark blue. A pond. This place was beautiful. I had found myself to be in a garden. A small one, but it was breath taking. Through the rain, and the moonlight, I could see Koi fish. I didn't care that I got wet, so I walked over to the water. There were five fish. two of which, resembled Yin and Yang. They circled each other, as if connected. Another small smile appeared on my face.

My fingernails graced the water lightly, and the Koi fish seemed to respond, two of them swam over to where my touch rippled the water and circled there. How...interesting. I amused myself this way for several minutes, but then decided to lay down next to the pond. The rain had calmed down to a very light sprinkle. I sat up, though, seeing as how the raindrops kept falling into my eyes. Whatever, I was beginning to feel at peace.

A quaint little place, this was. Not too big, but not claustrophobic either. It looked like a rainforest, mixed with a botanical garden. Quiet amazing in the moonlight. Had I been stoned, I would've been the most relaxed person alive. Even with all my problems, and bullshit, and lies that aren't really lies, this place was amazing and I was acually going to be happy for once in this week.

"Hello, I'm Fate, and I'm going to annoy the shit out of you."

Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. I froze, like a deer in headlights when I saw him. The air became awkward, and all my peaceful feelings became filled with hate, sadness and hurt. Oh boy.

**General P.O.V**

The two Genin looked at each other silently. Niether knowing what to say, niether not wanting to say anything, but the silence that surrounded them, made them deaf to anything but each other. Both of their eyes began to heat up at the memory they shared. Their throats tightened with painful rememberence. The female's heart pounded, as did the boy's. They didn't say anything, obviously, and yet, everything they needed to say was silently said.

Mayumi stood up from her sitting position. She wished she could become one of the Koi and swim away her problems. Not possible.

Shikamaru straightened his self, and wished he took the other turn back in the hallway but it was too late now.

Again, the two stared at each other, not knowing what to do or say. Had any other person been watching, they would've seen the two walk towards each other, but they didn't notice until they were only a foot away from each other.

Brown irisi met Gray, both bloodshot. Breathing, a bit uneven, and yet they still remained still.

They didn't know if they were going to fight again. They didn't know if they were going to argue. They didn't know if they were going to make up or stay this way. Everything was undecided at this point, nothing was set in motion, and nothing could be concluded.

To them, the first move would solve everything but, who was going to do it, was a mystery to them at the second. Shikamaru took in of how his teammate looked. She was wet from the rain, but so was he. Or beginning to be so. Her body seemed to have a couple bruises, for which he felt guilty of. What had caught his eye, though, was that her eyes were only blood shot from stress. She had not been smoking. All of what she said to him, about her having almost no purpose in life came to him. Had he caused her, his best friend, to say that, or had she really thought herself that way?

Mayumi looked at Shikamaru in the way he looked at her. Calculating, and nervous. She saw the scratches and bruises the she gave him and felt bad for it. The thought of her actually hurting him caused her to mentally cringed. The Nara boy was everything to her, and she unleashed the fury on him. The green haired girl felt immensly guilty, but the thought of an apology appalled her. Her Gray eyes looked into his brown ones, and saw that he was calculating her every movement. She intended to do the same.

Moments passed by silently before they did anything other than stare at each other. Carefully, Shikamaru was the first to move.

It was decided on his behalf, that he didn't want to argue, or fight or anything, anymore. He placed his hand between them, their handshake. She stared at his hand, not sure of what to do. Then, she decided that she wanted the same. Mayumi took his hand. Their thumbs entertwined, as did their pinkies. As they squeezed their hands together, realization hit them. Shikamaru realized that no matter how hopeless she deemed herself to be, he could never leave her side. Mayumi realized that even though she was maimed, her best friend would always be this boy. Another silent moment passed.

Shikamaru acted on impulse and pulled his green haired friend close. She seemed to be not bothered by this action, more calm than she should've been. Nara cupped her face lightly, and hesitated. Something mental pushed him foward, creating a new action. His lips met hers in a silent kiss, a soft, hesitant, unsure kiss. Their hands between them tightened when Mayumi leaned foward to confirm, in her thoughts, that she wasn't tripping. They stayed like that for a long while. Lips together, sometimes moving, sometimes not. The rain picked up and began to soak the two, but it didn't seem to go noticed. Mayumi, finally, pulled back to look her friend in the eyes. New questions were raised, and new thoughts began to sink in her mind, but forming the words to create them was nearly impossible. So, instead, she remained silent. Their hands gripped tighter than ever, seeing as how their knucles were turning white.

The brown haired boy took a small step backward, hoping to tell her to go inside and out of the rain. She need not to be told twice. Hands moved until they were laced together, as the duo walked, slowly, back inside. Rain droplets poured down on them until they got to the marble columns that with held the rain from touching them anymore. Hand-in-hand, Shikamaru, like a gentleman, walked Mayumi to her room. Standing outside her door made him feel a bit uneasy, but nonetheless, he turned towards her, to see what she thought.

Mayumi looked at him, thinking. A verbal goodbye would destroy this new found calmness for her, so she decided on a hopeful good bye. Much to his shock, Mayumi hugged Shikamaru tightly. Her arms like Python's and constricted around his neck. He was quick to return her embrace, his arms securing her waist. She breathed deeply his scent, cinnamon and cigarettes. The smell made her smile.

The two weren't thinking, that night. Any action will cause a consequence, be it good or bad. They both fell asleep, in their own rooms, in their own beds, silently wishing that everything would be alright. Though, niether of them could shake the feeling of confusion that had aroused in the garden.

**Done. End chapter 5 here, bro. Okay. Got it. Review, por favor? Onigai? Yes? No? **


End file.
